Break a leg

Area theater venues offer something for everyone this summer

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Summer theaters are
offering up the new, the old, and the tried-and-true, so there’s
something for everyone on area stages this summer. Here are highlights: The Springfield Muni
Opera has a big season that starts with the
hit Broadway musical Miss Saigon (June 1-3, 6-10), followed by
Peter Pan (June 22-24, June 27-July 1), Grease (July 13-15, 18-22)
and Oklahoma! (Aug.
3-5, 8-12). Call 217-793-6864 or go to www.themuni.org for tickets. The Little Theatre on
the Square, in Sullivan, offers a lineup of
old and new shows, but the big news is the 50th-anniversary production, a
concert version of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, featuring many stars from
the theater’s heyday: Ann B. Davis, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth
Hayes, Joan Roberts (the original Laurie in 1943’s Oklahoma!), Springfield’s Gus Gordon, Anna McNeeley, and many other
performers from Sullivan’s long history. The show plays at 8 p.m.
June 1, 4 and 8 p.m. June 2, and 2 p.m. June 3. The rest of the summer
lineup includes the area regional-theater premiere of Hairspray (June 6-24), with
Springfield’s Natalie Randall featured in the cast; My Fair Lady (June 27-July 8); Crazy for You (July 11-22); The Sound of Music (July
25-Aug. 5); and La Cage aux Folles (Aug. 8-19). Call 217-728-7375 or 888-261-9675 for
tickets.The Theatre in the Park, at New Salem, has Brigadoon (May 25-27 and May 31-June 3); Gypsy (June 15-17 and 21-24); The Miracle Worker (July 6-8
and 12-14); Once on This Island (July 20-22 and 26-29);
Visiting the Lincolns (Aug. 3 and 4),
featuring Chicago actors Michael Krebs and Debra Ann Miller; L’il Abner (Aug. 10-12
and 16-19) and The Trip to Bountiful (Aug. 24-26 and Aug. 30-Sept. 1). All performances begin
at 8 p.m., with free preshow entertainment at 7 p.m. Call 217-632-5440 for
tickets.The Jacksonville Theatre
Guild presents a stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird (June
1-3 and 8-10), followed by an original musical, titled David, You and I (about the
Biblical character King David), with music by Roger Wainwright and a script
by Ken Bradbury (Aug. 2-5 and 9-12). Shows are presented in the Sophie
Leschin Theatre. Call 217-245-1402. The Lincoln Community
Theatre’s season begins with the musical Once Upon a Mattress (June
8-16), followed by Honk! (July 6-14) and Cinderella (July 27-Aug. 4). Shows are presented in the Johnston
Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of Lincoln College, in
Lincoln. Call 217-735-2614. Kevin Purcell will perform poems by Illinois prairie
poets at the Vachel Lindsay Home at 11 a.m. and 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23.
Purcell, a Seattle actor who has relocated to Springfield, will present
poems by Lindsay, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg. Original music will
be performed by Ann Collins and Kevin Carton. Call 217-524-0901 for
reservations.The Illinois Shakespeare
Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary with
productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and Love’s Labour’s
Lost, performed in repertory June 27-Aug. 12.
Productions are staged in Ewing Manor. Call 309-438-2535. The Krannert Center for
the Performing Arts, at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also stages three shows in repertory each
summer. June 15-July 28, the featured plays are The Lion in Winter, Bus Stop, and a new comedy, Pasta, aka The Carmone Brothers Italian Food Products
Corp.’s Annual Pasta Pageant. Call
217-333-6280 or visit www.krannertcenter.com. The St. Louis Muny Opera
— the country’s largest outdoor
theater, seating 12,000 — will offer seven productions this summer: Oklahoma! (June 18-24), Grease (June 25-July 3), Hello, Dolly! (July 9-15), Peter Pan (July 16-22), The Pajama Game (July 23-29), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (July 30-Aug. 5), and Les
Misérables (Aug. 6-15). Call
314-361-1900, ext. 550, or visit www.muny.org. The touring edition of the hit musical The Lion King will play at
the Fox Theatre
in St. Louis June 21-July 29. Call 314-534-1111 or 800-293-5949 or visit
www.fabulousfox.com.And here is an event that always delivers: Rushville’s Annual Cemetery Walk. Actors portray characters from the past as visitors tour Bader
Cemetery. This year’s walk, the eighth, is titled Memories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Dedication and features six characters. The performance starts at 1
p.m. Saturday, May 26. Call 217-322-2066 for more information. Director, actor, and writer Phil Funkenbusch is a
regular contributor to Illinois Times.